Riera, Santalab face off for striker spot

Dec 21, 2017 - 5:26 AM
The marquee Spaniard or the sometimes-used veteran who rescued Western Sydney from A-League freefall?

If ever Josep Gombau had a selection headache on his hands, it's picking between strikers Oriol Riera and Brendon Santalab.

Having sat on the bench last weekend against Central Coast, Riera has been declared fit to start on Friday night in Newcastle, where the Wanderers will attempt to scrape into the top six before Christmas.

The only problem is that Santalab is, too, and the 35-year-old can take a lot of credit for ending the club's unenviable nine-week winless streak last weekend.

Santalab bagged an excellent goal and assist against the Mariners to gift Gombau a maiden victory under immense pressure.

It's unclear whether he'll be rewarded with a second start of the season or a spot on the bench, with a decision to made on Friday.

"Look, it's a good problem for a coach, to have two No.9s in a good way," Gombau said.

"The season is very long; the games have 90 minutes. We will see tomorrow who will start, but I am happy to have these two players to play as a No.9 in my team.

"Riera is fit - he's 100 per cent. He can do the job also and he's able to play tomorrow."

Jaushua Sotirio remains unavailable as he continues to recover from a hamstring strain.

Gombau offered no hints on whether captain Robbie Cornthwaite, reportedly benched against the Mariners for missing a training session, would return to the first XI.

But Keanu Baccus' performance gives him every chance to start another match ahead of older brother Kearyn in Gombau's revamped, shaken-up order.

The rejuvenated Jets are bidding to stay in touch with league leaders Sydney FC.

And goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic named gun for hire Dimi Petratos as Ernie Merrick's biggest threat, stressing the late-swinging set-piece specialist was the one to "keep on lockdown".

But the Wanderers have rare momentum on their side.

Janjetovic said morale in camp had improved immeasurably and hoped the breakthrough victory would prove the turning point of a tumultuous campaign.

"The win helps, and just knowing we can win playing the way he wants us to play - transitioning into that new style of football. It's a big bonus for us," Janjetovic said.

"We've had different teams out on the park every week so it's trial and error for us."

STATS THAT MATTER:

* Western Sydney are undefeated in their past seven games against Newcastle (W5, D2) with four clean sheets

* The Jets have scored six goals after the 75th minute, more than any other team. The Wanderers are the only side yet to score in the last 15 minutes

* Nikolai Topor-Stanley is on the cusp of his 100th A-League win, 48 of which came in a Wanderers jersey